Hot Topics:

Opinions vary widely on prosecution of Cahill

By Andy Metzger, State House News Service

Updated:
12/04/2012 07:47:23 AM EST

Former Treasurer Tim Cahill testifies during his trial in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on Thursday. AP Photo

BOSTON -- While the fate of Tim Cahill and co-defendant Scott Campbell lays this week with a jury on the ninth floor of Suffolk Superior Court, advocates and politicians around Massachusetts have already passed varying judgments on Attorney General Martha Coakley's decision to prosecute the two.

Coakley alleged that Cahill's decision to run taxpayer-funded ads promoting the Massachusetts State Lottery during a campaign for governor where he also touted his record overseeing the lottery was a criminal violation of state ethics law, which had been overhauled following the prosecutions of former Sen. Dianne Wilkerson and former House Speaker Sal DiMasi. The defense has argued the ads were intended to restore confidence in the lottery after the Republican Governors Association criticized the agency and Cahill for spending on a fleet of cars and lobby renovations.

"The motive here was not to spend $1.5 million to promote the lottery -- even despite the RGA ads -- but the motive and the fraudulent intent here was to use a found $2 million -- 75 percent of $2 million -- to promote the gubernatorial campaign. We allege that that's an unwarranted, unfair and unlawful advantage. And it's criminal in Massachusetts," Coakley said at an April 2 press conference announcing the indictments.

Former Treasurer Joe Malone, a Republican, believes that if the charges are true, Cahill has found himself out of step with the modern movement toward higher ethical standards.

Advertisement

"I think what you see oftentimes in politics is that what was done during one era or one decade, then in the next decade, the citizens of the state or nation decide that that's no longer to be tolerated," Malone told the News Service Monday morning. "Time will tell but I think that Treasurer Cahill might have gotten caught in the middle of that changing of times."

Asked whether the alleged actions would have been acceptable during his time as treasurer from 1991 through 1998, Malone said, "I can only tell you that we didn't do that, and up at the Statehouse at that time as a Republican there was certainly an awful lot of eyes on us, and so we made sure -- with the purpose of protecting the taxpayers' dollars, with the purpose of not stepping in any trouble -- that we asked ourselves several times: Is this the right thing from the taxpayers' standpoint?"

Malone said that presidential politics can stray into the gray area as well, saying, "There are people who say, 'Well, the president is going on a trip to a certain state; he's going to combine some politics and a fundraiser with also some business that he's doing for the country.' It is a thin line that you have to be careful about not crossing."

Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, has been vocally critical of Coakley's decision to prosecute Cahill, a Democrat-turned independent candidate, who Hedlund has said he has known for 25 years.

"I don't know if it's an overreach," Hedlund said on a recent episode of Broadside with Jim Braude. "But if this is the standard then there's an under-reach on a whole host of other fronts with all the shenanigans that go on with our tax dollars on Beacon Hill."

The alleged crimes -- conspiracy to commit procurement fraud, procurement fraud, conspiracy to obtain an unwarranted privilege and obtaining an unwarranted privilege -- were made criminal acts by the Legislature in 2009 when ethics laws were overhauled. Each charge carries a sentence of up to five years in state prison and a $10,000 fine, according to Coakley.

"Understanding that with the Legislature's action, I think that all elected officials need to be aware that there will be greater scrutiny on the use of taxpayer dollars," Coakley said at the April press conference.

Pam Wilmot of the good-government advocacy group Common Cause lobbied for passage of the law, and said in an email to the News Service that if Cahill is guilty of using public funds for his campaign's benefit, it will have been a good application of the law.

"If Cahill had the necessary fraudulent intent, and the jury concludes that the facts bear this out, it will be a good application. There is a lot of money involved, $1.8 million, and public officials have a duty to uphold the public's interest and not sacrifice it for personal gain," Wilmot wrote.

Wilmot also said Cahill's case appears to be a difficult one for the prosecution to prove.

"There are gray areas where a particular action or expenditure may have political implications and yet not be made for that purpose. In the Cahill case, the prosecution will have (to) prove that the ad buy was primarily intended to help Cahill's election rather than to improve lottery returns, that Cahill knew this, and fraudulently ordered the ads to run anyway. That's a pretty high bar for the prosecution," Wilmot wrote.

Harvey Silverglate, a civil-liberties advocate and defense lawyer, came out unequivocally against Coakley's decision to prosecute Cahill.

"(My) gripe with the Cahill prosecution is that the statute, as interpreted by the Attorney General's Office, would appear to criminalize conduct that the average citizen, and surely the average person in Cahill's position, would deem quite normal political activity. Most political figures use the accoutrements of their offices to promote their political careers," Silverglate wrote in an email to the News Service. He said the law itself suffers from "unconstitutional vagueness," and said it could run afoul of the Declaration of Rights in the state's constitution. Silverglate said, "I cannot see how Cahill committed a crime."

As the legislation was debated three and a half years ago, Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, said it would "stand the test of scrutiny" and said the legislation made clear that "there are serious penalties that ensure that justice will be swift and it will be strong for those who flaunt the rules that we put down."

Gov. Deval Patrick signed the bill July 1, 2009, saying it represented "the most comprehensive improvements in our ethics, lobbying and campaign finance laws in a generation."

Patrick, Treasurer Steve Grossman and Rep. Peter Kocot, D-Northampton, who worked on drafting the law, all declined to comment on the ongoing criminal trial, through aides.

In April, Grossman said, "These indictments indicate a gross violation of public trust and a violation of the public office that was held by a constitutional officer."

In his appearance on Broadside, Hedlund said Cahill got "a raw deal" and alleged the prosecution itself was politically tinged, saying, "I wonder if there's an aspect of this that, 'You know, he's a guy who left the party, maybe he's an easy target.' "

One hallmark of Cahill's defense has been that he "wore two hats," as treasurer and candidate, and that although it was difficult, he was able to balance the two roles.

Patrick discussed the balancing of politics and governing this fall after facing accusations from Republican Sheriff Tom Hodgson that he was spending too much time on the campaign trail to help President Barack Obama's re-election effort.

"I'm governor all the time. I'm connected and involved and engaged all the time, and the folks who are playing politics with my doing the political part of my job, I guess I would ask them whether they are making time for their jobs," Patrick told reporters on Oct. 15.

After about a month of testimony, Superior Court Judge Christine Roach planned to spend Monday working on her instructions to the jury. Prosecutors and defense attorneys are scheduled to deliver closing arguments when Cahill's trial resumes this morning.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.